Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Spammers to be Executed in Moscow

Jeffrey Schaffer has a friendly chat with the guard just before sentencing. The maximum penalty of death by hanging was handed down by the judge.

In an article from CNE news, there is a report of 2 spammers who have been convicted of “hooliganism” in a Moscow courtroom. The judge imposed the maximum penalty of death by hanging “to impose state security and unity in an increasingly fractious time”.

Jeffrey Schaffer (L) and James Kilbride (seated) just before sentencing.

The duo of spammers (Jeffrey Schaffer and James Kilbride) had moved their operations from Garden Grove, California, to Moscow, in an attempt to evade the provisions of the federal Can-Spam Act, which took effect on January 1, 2004. In an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters in October last year, they admit that move “proved to be a costly mistake”.

Barbara and her producers secured the highly prized interview with Schaeffer and Kilbride last October.

The State Department has taken a “hands-off” approach in dealing with the situation. Normally citizens would have some recourse through the American Embassy. However, in this instance, Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has decided to not intervene in Russia’s internal affairs. “In the interest of goodwill between our two nations we have chosen not to protest the outcome of this lawfully conducted trial”, said Rice. A highly-placed source at the State Department said, “Secretary Rice believes that bi-lateral relations between Russia and the USA are more important than the fate of these two scofflaws”. The source remained anonymous because they were not authorized to speak with the press.

Secretary Rice comments on the conviction and sentencing of Jeffrey Schaffer and James Kilbride. “Bilateral relations between Russia and the USA are more important than the fate of these two scofflaws.”